MIT team selected as finalist for 2025 NASA RASC-AL Competition
The MIT/University of Waterloo team has been accepted into NASA’s 2025 Revolutionary Aerospace Systems – Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) Competition finals. This year’s competition invited undergraduate and graduate students from across the nation to develop new, innovative concepts to improve our ability to operate on the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
As one of 14 finalist teams, the team and their concept “M.I.S.T.R.E.S.S. – Moon Infrastructure for Sustainable Technologies, Resource Extraction, and Self-Sufficiency” will advance to the next phase, where they will refine their design, submit a detailed technical paper, and present their work at the 2025 RASC-AL Competition Forum in June. Their concepts will be evaluated by a panel of NASA and aerospace industry leaders.
MIT teams have a strong history of success in RASC-AL, winning the top prize in 2022 and 2023, as well as Best in Theme in 2024. This year’s Course 16 team includes Elizabeth Romero ’26, Alex Ng SM ’24, and PhD students Laxman Kafle and Madelyn MacRobbie. They are advised by George Lordos and Professors Olivier de Weck and Jeff Hoffman.
